Supplementary hospital insurance
Hospital insurance offers you an unrestricted choice of doctor and hospital among those recognised by Helsana throughout Switzerland, as well as greater comfort in hospital. Supplement your basic insurance with the right cover for a stay in a general, semi-private or private ward.
Frequently asked questions about hospital insurance
Supplementary hospital insurance supplements the benefits of basic insurance during an inpatient stay. Depending on your specific supplementary hospital insurance product, you could benefit from an unrestricted choice of doctor and hospital, more privacy or additional comfort. At Helsana, you’ll find the right solution for a general, semi-private or private ward – or choose a new ward for each hospital stay with the FLEX model.
Supplementary hospital insurance is voluntary. Whether it’s a sensible option depends on your needs and your budget. It’s worth it if having more freedom of choice and comfort is important to you. Depending on the policy, you may benefit from an unrestricted choice of hospital and doctor. Certain hospital insurance products also give you additional benefits before, during and after your hospital stay, along with more privacy in hospital.
Which supplementary hospital insurance option is right for you depends on your desired scope of benefits.
To do so, you’ll need to answer a few questions about your health. We will then review your application individually. You will be able to enjoy the benefits of your supplementary hospital insurance after you have been accepted. Reservations may apply to pre-existing conditions in individual cases.
Yes. In principle, children, pregnant people and people with pre-existing conditions can also apply for supplementary hospital insurance. Before concluding the contract, we will review your application using a health questionnaire. Pre-existing conditions or an ongoing pregnancy can affect admission or individual benefits.
Important information for expectant parents: There is a waiting period of 365 days for benefits related to pregnancy and childbirth. That means you should ideally take out supplementary hospital insurance before you get pregnant.
In general, it’s worth taking out insurance early. You can apply for insurance for babies even before they are born.
The main difference lies in the unrestricted choice of ward and hospital, room comfort and benefits inside and outside hospital:
- General: Treatment in a general ward with a multi-bed room, free choice of hospitals anywhere in Switzerland and additional benefits related to your stay
- Semi-private: Treatment in a semi-private ward with a two-bed room, free choice of hospitals and medical team, as well as additional benefits related to your stay
- Private: Treatment in a private ward with a single room, maximum freedom of choice in terms of the hospital and medical team, as well as additional benefits related to your stay
Discover the advantages and benefits of Helsana supplementary hospital insurance for a general, semi-private and private ward, or the flexible solution.
Free choice of hospitals means that you can choose your own hospital throughout Switzerland: you are no longer limited to hospitals in your canton of residence. Depending on which option you select, you may also benefit from a free choice of doctor.
Outpatient means that you receive treatment and go home the same day.
Inpatient means that you will stay in hospital for at least one night after your treatment.
They also differ in terms of the payment of costs:
- Basic insurance pays for outpatient treatment within the scope of the statutory benefits. It only covers medical treatment; you are not entitled to any comfort benefits or a free choice of doctor. PRIMEO bridges this gap.
- Basic insurance pays for inpatient treatment in a general ward in your canton of residence. With supplementary hospital insurance, you are entitled to more benefits, such as an unrestricted choice of doctor and hospital or a single room, depending on the product chosen.
The minimum term is one year. The contract is automatically renewed each year on the expiry date for a further year.
- Cancellation is possible effective from 31 December.
- The notice period for cancellation is three months.
- Notice of cancellation must reach us by no later than the last working day in September.
- If the premium changes, a notice period of one month applies.
- In this case, notice of cancellation must reach us by no later than the last working day in November.
A waiting period is the time from the commencement of the contract during which you are not yet entitled to claim insurance benefits. The waiting period for supplementary hospital insurance only applies to the birth:
there is a waiting period of 365 days in the case of maternity. That means you cannot claim benefits before the end of the first insurance year. This also applies to pre-existing pregnancies. In other words, in the first year, your maternity stay in a hospital would only be covered through basic insurance – for childbirth and postpartum care, for instance. Basic insurance covers the cost of a stay, care and treatment in a general ward (multi-bed room) in a hospital in your canton of residence. For out-of-canton hospitals, the tariff in your canton of residence is taken as the maximum cost limit.
Benefits in the event of illness or accident are covered from the start of the insurance. In this instance, there is no waiting period and you always have a free choice of hospitals.
If multiple people in your household are insured under the same contract, you can benefit from our family discount on supplementary insurance:
- 5% discount for two or more people
- 10% discount for three or more people
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